<\/p>\n
Stellantis sent an unmistakable signal when it replaced former CEO Carlos Tavares with Antonio Filosa last year. <\/p>\n
Filosa cut his teeth as the head of the North American market, and his moves since taking over to re-establish the brand’s presence in the U.S. are paying dividends.<\/p>\n
Stellantis shares were rising nearly 2% at last check Wednesday afternoon, April 15, after the company reported global Q1 shipments of 1.4 million, a 12% year-over-year increase. Additionally, the company said the increase was driven by “enlarged Europe and North America.”<\/p>\n
Under former CEO Carlos Tavares\u2019 leadership, Stellantis laid off American factory workers, shuffled its C-suite, and forced its U.S. brands to\u00a0push products that American customers didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, when Filosa took over, he indicated that he would keep his\u00a0director of North America title as he moved the CEO\u2019s office to Detroit, Michigan. Stellantis revealed last May that it will build a $388 million \u201cMegahub\u201d in Van Buren Township, just outside Detroit.<\/p>\n
When Filosa took over last June, the company reported a 14% year-over-year decline in revenue as consolidated shipments fell 9% to 1.2 million. At the time, the company blamed the declines on lower North American production. <\/p>\n
This year’s results are a complete reversal from Stellantis Q1 results a year ago, when the firm reported a 12% decrease in U.S. sales, despite a 16% increase in Ram brand sales and a 1% increase in Chrysler brand sales. Jeep brand sales increased by 2%.<\/p>\n
This year, the results were much different.<\/p>\n
North America leads Stellantis back to growth<\/p>\n
Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler, among others, reported 12% global growth, driven by a 17% increase in North American sales. <\/p>\n
The company shipped 379,000 vehicles in North America in the first quarter, 54,000 vehicles more than it did a year ago. But its success wasn’t limited to the West. <\/p>\n
The company’s European operations saw shipments increase by 69,000 units, or 12%, to 637,000.<\/p>\n
Related: Automakers face a troubling customer trend<\/p>\n
The North American growth was driven by strong Ram 1500 Hemi V8 shipments, the refreshed Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and the new Jeep Cherokee, which accounted for more than 100% of year-over-year growth.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, European growth was spurred by steady light commercial vehicle shipments as well as growth at FIAT, Opel\/Vauxhall and Citro\u00ebn brands, which the company says benefited from the performance of its Smart Car platform.<\/p>\n
Ram 1500 sales helped Stellantis rebound in North America.<\/p>\n
Photo by Bloomberg on Getty Images<\/p>\n
Stellantis elevated Filosa to turn around North American market<\/p>\n
Stellantis’ latest quarterly results suggest the company’s plan to turn around its brands is already working. <\/p>\n
The 2021 merger between Fiat Chrysler\u00a0\u2014\u00a0which owned the U.S. brands Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, as well as the European brand\u00a0Fiat\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and\u00a0PSA\u00a0Group seemingly turned some of America\u2019s most iconic brands into an afterthought at a giant, faceless European conglomerate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellantis\u2019 former CEO, Carlos Tavares, officially stepped down late in 2024. Reports following his exit suggested that his management style rubbed American Stellantis execs and employees the wrong way.<\/p>\n
Sources noted\u00a0that Tavares treated Stellantis like a company based in Europe, not one with offices on multiple continents, each with its own work culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So one of the first things Filosa did when he took over was refer to Stellantis as\u00a0\u201ca global company with deep regional roots,” with a\u00a0plan to begin leveraging its institutional knowledge in those regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Filosa, 52, went on to name his leadership team, which included Ralph Gilles as head designer and\u00a0Olivier Fran\u00e7ois as head of marketing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gilles is credited with the interior designs of the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Viper in 2002 and 2003, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is also credited with designing the iconic\u00a0Chrysler 300.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure, one important root cause of our market deterioration, both in North America, especially, but also in Enlarged Europe, is the fact that in the past we decided to phase out many important, relevant, and successful nameplates,\u201d Filosa said last year. <\/p>\n
He went on to name seven popular vehicles that were phased out during his predecessor\u2019s tenure, including Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Renegade, Chrysler 300, Ram DS Classic, Ram ProMaster City, Dodge Charger, and the Challenger.<\/p>\n
Whether Filosa will be able to bring all of those brands back remains to be seen, but what is clear is that he will continue as director of North America and work from Detroit, reinforcing the importance of the American market to Stellantis\u2019 future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related: Ford CEO Jim Farley has blunt message on Chinese EVs<\/p>\n
#Stellantis #CEO039s #plan #working<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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